Kingdom Konsultant Travel Blog

As another year comes to a close, many are remembering the events of 2012 and looking ahead to the new year with hope and expectation.   It is easy to forget the wonderful events throughout the year until we take time to stop and reflect.   With this in mind, I thought it would be fitting to reflect on some of the Disney happenings of 2012. January The year began with the opening of the Exotic Driving Experience at the Walt Disney World Speedway.   Who can resist a chance to ride along or drive a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Audi or Porsche?   And now a new exotic is available for this experience – the Aston Martin Virage.   February Disney delighted us with One More Disney Day – we no longer had to imagine what it would be like to spend 24 hours in a Disney park.   Disneyland Park and Magic Kingdom Park celebrated the leap year with a wonderful 24-hour celebration.   Say it with me, “I took the leap and didn’t sleep!”   March Disney set sail on the maiden voyage of

  Who else wishes they were strolling through the beautiful gardens at Epcot today?

All of us here at Kingdom Konsultants hope that you and your family are having a wonderful holiday season.  We're quickly approaching the end of 2012 and looking forward to beginning 2013 with all of you.  Thank you for reading our blog posts, checking out our pictures and for participating in our trivia contests!  We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we do sharing them.   Beginning next week, we'll be doing monthly trivia contests.  Each Thursday we will have a set of questions for our readers to answer.  The questions will be based on the posts that were featured earlier that week on our blog.  Readers can submit their answers to us via email.  At the end of each month, we'll put together the names of those with the most correct answers through the month and choose a winner.  Winners will receive a prize from Kingdom Konsultant Travel! We hope you'll continue to read and share our blog, and that you'll participate in our weekly trivia in 2013!  Happ

  Do you love the Osborne Lights?

'Be Our Guest Restaurant' has been incredibly popular, with dinner reservations being near 100% booked for 180 days in advance, and the lunch queue beginning at park opening.  Starting this month, selected guests are going to be given the chance to choose an arrival time for lunch online, and even choose items from the menu prior to their arrival. This will all be done on a website, similar to the new FASTPASS+ system that is already in testing with guests. Once the arrival time and menu items have been selected, the guest will arrive at the designated time, check in and pay at an express location, take the magic rose to the table of their choice, and the food will be delivered.  This new system being tested looks like a way to manage guest flow through the restaurant more effectively, and reduce time taken in the ordering phase once inside the restaurant. The test will be in limited numbers; with guests being invited into the test at their resort check-

Thanks to everyone who participated in our Where in the World? Picture Trivia!  We hope you enjoyed it!  Let's see how you did!   #1 - Prince Charming Regal Carrousel #2 - Spaceship Earth   #3 - Kermit statue near Muppet*Vision 3D   #4 - By the exit of Expedition Everest     #5 - Living with the Land     #6 - Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin     #7 - Big Thunder Mountain     #8 - Rock N' Roller Coaster #9 - The Seas with Nemo & Friends #10 - Jungle Cruise     We had some great guesses come through, but there can only be one winner.  We're happy to announce the winner for this picture trivia is Jill K.!  Congratulations, Jill! 

In the spirit of the holiday season, Kingdom Konsultant Travel presents to you, "Twelve Days of Disney Dining!"     On the twelfth day of vacation, my true love sent to me Twelve Main Street Bakery goodies Eleven Mickey waffles Ten buckets of popcorn Nine pieces of School Bread Eight Mickey Crisped Rice Treats Seven pieces of Tonga Toast Six Pineapple Dole Whips Five cups of Beverly! Four turkey legs Three Mickey Bars Two Starring Rolls' cupcakes And a Kitchen Sink from Beaches & Cream!    

  Let's play where's that Christmas tree at Disney World!  Does anyone know where you can find this beauty?

Have you ever looked at someone's Disney vacation photos and just by the color of the ground or the hue of the walls immediately knew which attraction they were visiting?  Maybe you spotted a letter on a sign in the background or a lamp hanging over their heads and knew which restaurant they had dinner at that night.  Disney fans have a good eye when it comes to looking at photos and many of us can pick up the location with just the slightest hints.  If you fall into this category of people with this talent (a pretty impressive one at that), today's blog post is for you!  Below is a series of snippets of ten different photographs.  From these snippets you will need to guess which attraction the picture is from.  All of the photos were taken on or nearby attractions within the four theme parks of Walt Disney World.  When you've gotten your answers, send an email with the subject "Snippets" to vacations@kingdomkonsultant.com .  Those who have the most answers correc

Complimentary Wi-Fi has gone gold at Downtown Disney, which now completes the roll-out of Wi-Fi to all Walt Disney World resorts and theme parks. Image courtesy of WDWMagic.com Disney is about to expand the new “Touch to Pay” system to a wide variety of locations this week.  The system was first tested back in August at the Contemporary, and is now being added to a number of locations starting from 12/11/2012. The new system allows guests to use their RFID Key to the World card to just touch the Mickey head on the reader to make their payment. Purchases over $50 require a PIN number to be entered, which is set at check-in. Guests can also use the system to pay by credit card, but in this case it is swiped through the magnetic reader. The new touch to pay locations are as follows: Disney's Art of Animation Resort Disney's BoardWalk Resort Disney's Contemporary Resort Disney's Polynesian Resort Disney's Yacht & Beach Resort It is expect

The Cars Courtyard at Disney's Art of Animation Resort really makes you feel as if you're strolling right through Radiator Springs!  Have you visited Art of Animation yet?  What was your favorite part of the resort?

There is something about the sparkling glow of Christmas lights that makes me giddy.   I remember when I was a kid how we would pile into the car and drive around town just looking for houses decorated for the holidays.   There was an older gentleman in our community that really went all out—we called his place The Gingerbread House and would beg to go see it every year.   Yes, that house was awesome, but it is nothing compared to magnificent display that the Osborne family of Little Rock, Arkansas used to put up year after year. Osborne family - recognize the name?    That’s right!   Each year the Streets of America in Disney’s Hollywood Studios get decked out with 5 million twinkling lights.   They call this display the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights.   I think many Disney fans have become accustomed to the fact that every Disney attraction has a backstory, but did you realize this particular backstory is based on a real family?     As I mentioned, the Osborne fa

Cinderella Castle is beautiful right now!  Have you seen it?

If you haven't followed us on Instagram, it's time!  We've got agents at Disney on a regular basis and they're instagramming while they're there!  You can keep up with the newest happenings, like photos of the grand opening of Fantasyland last week with Ginnifer Goodwin, Tom Staggs and Jordin Sparks!  We also had some of the first pictures from inside Test Track! So come join the fun! If you don't have an iPhone or Droid, you can find us online at http://instagram.com/kingdomkonsultants!

Remember those auditions back in September for variety acts? Well it looks like they have been recruited to join the Storybook Circus Giggle Gang starting this week in the New Fantasyland. Here are the full details from the official Disney Parks Blog. What would a circus be without clowns? At Storybook Circus in Magic Kingdom Park, our masters of mirth tickle your funny bone with a whirlwind of wackiness. Just wait until you meet boss clown Chuckles Buffoon McMonkeyshine III and his protégés, Whinny Horselaugh and Snort. Together, they engage in circus shenanigans, from classic calamities to clown calisthenics. They’re sure to have you in stitches! Joining the Storybook Circus Giggle Gang is the Silly Saxtet, parading onto the circus grounds with their own unique twist on circus music standards, and featured clown Wowzer, a specialty performer who takes center ring and keeps his audience enthralled with amazing feats of thrills, chills and hilarity. Inspired by everything from

Years in the making, today is the day all Disney fans have been anxiously waiting for.  Today is the dawn of a new era on our beloved Magic Kingdom, as Walt Disney World opens the long awaited New Fantasyland!  Princesses Belle and Ariel, along with their princes, Adam and Eric, have all made their homes in this new land.  The New Fantasyland fun doesn't end there! In 2013, Princess Fairytale Hall will be the place to be for all royalty where guests can meet their favorite princesses.  In 2014, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train coaster will be the final piece of the puzzle to complete New Fantasyland.  Not too long ago, our very own Agent Heather was able to experience a dress rehearsal of New Fantasyland.  You can read about her experience here.   Along with the New Fantasyland opening, Walt Disney World is also celebrating the grand reopening of the Epcot favorite Test Track.  This newly redesigned attraction allows guests to design their own virtual custom-concept vehicle and then

Calling all cruisers!  Disney Cruise Line has released the itineraries for the beginning of 2014!  While that may seem like a ways away, it's never too early to start planning your Disney Cruise!  All four of the Disney Cruise Lines ships will be sailing from Florida during this time: the Disney Dream, Fantasy and Magic will all be sailing out of Port Canaveral, while the Disney Wonder will be departing from Miami. Here is a look at some of the dates and itineraries for early 2014: Departing from Miami: 4-night Bahamas Disney Wonder departures: 1/15/14 - 4/23/14 Ports: Miami, Castaway Cay, Nassau, Key West 5-night Caribbean Disney Wonder departures: 1/10/14- 4/18/14 Ports: Miami, Grand Cayman, Cozumel 5-night Caribbean, including Castaway Cay Disney Wonder departures: 1/19/14 - 4/27/14 Ports: Miami, Cozumel, Castaway Cay Departing from Port Canaveral:   3- and 4-night Bahamas Disney Dream departures: 1/2/14 - 8/31/14; Disney Magic departures: 1/6/14